Success at the Olympic Games could be simply a sign of things to come

Early designs featuring hexagonal wheels on the cycling logo were dropped because they “looked like The Flintstones”

They’re everywhere, from road signs to rest rooms, telephone books to children’s toys, but few think of pictograms as art. Functional, yes, but barely worth more than a glance.

Yet that underestimates those simple depictions of often-Lowry-like figures that guide you in the right direction. They can capture a moment, be as much a part of, say, an Olympic Games as fast-food or patriotic spirit.

In 1968, for example, Mexico incorporated elements of its folk art into the images when it hosted the Games. Four years later, in Munich, the “cold geometry” of the German designer Oli Aicher set a new standard.

When it was London’s turn last year, responsibility for the images was handed to a small agency best known for its work on…